The Alabama Crimson Tide took care of business on Saturday with a 45-20 win over Kansas State in the 2022 Sugar Bowl. From Bryce Young’s five touchdown passes to Will Anderson’s assertiveness to disrupt the Will Howard-led Wildcats offense, the Crimson Tide orchestrated quite a convincing performance in the final game of their campaign.
Alabama will now turn its attention to the futures of Young and Anderson. The two are expected to soon declare for the 2023 NFL Draft, where they each are projected to be first-round selections.
For Alabama head coach Nick Saban, he has nothing but appreciation for Young and Anderson, and in the big picture, he simply wants them to make the “best business decision” over whether to declare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
“Well, I want them to make the best business decision for themselves and their future,” Saban said during his postgame press conference. “And if you're going to be a high first-round draft pick, the business decision has always been it's probably best to go out for the draft unless you have some other reason that you don't feel you're ready to do that. Or there's some other goal that you have in mind that you want to accomplish.
“And that's the advice that I've given all of our players through the years. So I think these guys are probably more than deserving of that kind of attention when the draft rolls around.”
Multiple future NFL talents decided to opt out of playing in the bowl season, but not Young and Anderson. Saban sees that their call to play in the Sugar Bowl sent a “message” to other NFL Draft prospects.
“But I think these guys send a message to everybody that you create value for yourself by playing football,” Saban said. “You don't create value for yourself by opting out and saying, ‘I'm going to get ready for the draft.' Because what are you getting ready for? Combine? Half the stuff you do at the combine isn't relative to football.
“But when you play against good competition, and you play well, that creates value.”
Overall, Alabama finished with an 11-2 record this season.
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